Remote and inhospitable environments, such as those often occurring around geological sites of interest, oilfield operations, highway construction, disaster response operations, rescue teams, and the like, often suffer from lack of reliable communications. Currently, communications devices equipped to connect to communication towers of a cellular network require stable power supplies. Such stable power supplies are generally unsuitable for remote or inhospitable environments or are too fragile to operate reliably in those environments. Therefore, a need exists for reliable long distance communication systems, compatible with existing voice and data networks, which may employ varying power types and reliabilities and survive in rugged terrain.